Christmas 2013

We've had a busy few days, and now Christmas is over. We had another lovely Christmas this year, spending the day at home and visiting friends and family on each side. We counted down to Christmas following the daily antics of our Elf on the Shelf which was definitely a hit with the little ones. Harry was well hyped up for Christmas, helped by all the activities that he took part in at school - the Nativity play, a trip to the pantomime, Christmas party and the carol service. I made two smaller gingerbread houses this year, one for each child, which they decorated themselves.

On Christmas Eve we went out into the garden to watch the International Space Station fly overhead, made more magical by convincing the children that it was Father Christmas going past in his sleigh. Then we scattered reindeer food, and put out the stockings, mince pie and carrot.

They received one large present each - Harry a Playmobil cargo plane and Mia a dolls house - which they were absolutely delighted with. Then I kept their stockings small and simple, and of course they received presents from family too. They both received some lovely books which I'm looking forward to reading with them.

The surprise hit present of the day was a couple of tiny Hexbugs, which cost about £2 each. We hadn't encountered Hexbugs before, they are little robotic creatures that run about and are an absolute bargain for the amount of play value. Harry spent ages constructing a maze for them out of Duplo to run around in, and I can see lots more fun to be had.

And as for me, among my lovely gifts I was lucky enough to receive some crafty things that I'm looking forward to trying out!

Our Christmas dinner is a little untraditional as we don't really eat meat so we don't go for a turkey. Instead we had roasted vegetables and party food. I don't want to spend Christmas cooking, so we go for easy options that just need to be heated up. Harry was beautifully behaved at the table, Mia a little more fidgety, but we still enjoyed a special family meal. We made our own crackers this year which were a big success, and a good way to use up some of those party bag fillers that we've collected through the year!

It has been lovely to spend some family time together, and we still have another week with us all at home, so I may be a little quiet over here for a few days, but I have plenty coming up, including some book giveaways, so keep an eye out!

I hope that all my readers enjoyed a lovely Christmas :)